Abrasive articles containing a plurality of plies of abrasive materials



10, 1966 A. BLOCK 3,250,047 ABRASIVE ARTICLES CONTAINING A PLURALITY OF PLIES OF ABRASIVE MATERIALS Filed March 50, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l May 10, 1966 A. BLOCK ABRASIVE ARTICLES CONTAINING A PLURALITY OF PLIES OF ABRASIVE MATERIALS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 30, 1962 f L W pm M/ i a Z M Z United States Patent 3,250,047 ABRASIVE ARTICLES CONTAINING A PLURAL- ITY OF PLIES OF ABRASIVE MATERIALS Aleck Block, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Merit Products, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Mar. 30, 1962, Ser. No. 183,839 9 Claims. (Cl. 51-358) This invention relatesto abrasive articles. More particularly, the invention relates to abrasive articles which include abrasive means formed by a plurality of plies and stapling means having prongs extending through the plies of the abrasive means to retain the plies of the abrasivemeans for unitary movement.

As machines and tools become increasingly complex, the various elements in the machines and tools have to be formed with progressively precise tolerances. These tolerances are often obtained by polishing the surfaces of the elements in the machines and tools with abrasive articles so as to smoothen the surfaces and remove burrs and other imperfections. The abrasive articles are formed from one or more flaps of a material having an abrasive on one surface of each of the flaps.

The abrasive articles now in use have different configurations when used for different purposes. For example, when the abrasive articles are to be used as a rotary polishing wheel for polishing the surface of a hole, the abrasive article may have the configuration of a thin, planar multi-ply pad which is rotated on an axis perpendicular to the plane of the .pad. The abrasive articles now in use have not generally been entirely satisfactory for certain reasons. One reason has been that the abrasive articles have not been able to withstand the forces which thesurface to be polished exerts against the article as the article is rotated. Another reason has been that the abrasive articles have not been able to be formed easily and conveniently to accomplish the desired polishing action.

This invention provides abrasive articles which overcome the disadvantages described above. For example, the abrasive articles included in this invention can be formed easily and conveniently. Furthermore, the various elements included in the abrasivearticles of this invention are positively locked and are constructed and disposed relative to one another such that the abrasive articles are able to withstand large forces which may be exerted against the articles by the surfaces to be polished.

In the various embodiments of the invention, abrasive means are formed from at least one ply of a material having an abrasive on one face of the material. Stapling means are secured to the abrasive means as by prongs extending from the stapling means and through the abrasive means. The prongs extend from the periphery of a flat central collar portion which is provided with a retaining portion to retain driving means for movement of the stapling member with the driving means. By way of illustration, the collar portion may be provided with a central opening which is threaded to engage the threads of driving means such as a mandrel. As another example, the collar portion may be provided with lugs to engage detents on the mandrel.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view substantially on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 and further illustrates the construction of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the invention;

3,250,047 Patented May 10, 1966 FIGURE 4 is a sectional view substantially on the line 44 of FIGURE 3 and further illustrates the construction of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of a third embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view substantially on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 5 and further illustrates the construction of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of a fourth embodie ment of the invention;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a stapling member which. is included in the embodiment shown inFIG- URE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 10 is an enlarged perspective view of a stapling member included in a sixth embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 11 is a perspective view of an abrasive pad which may be used as the abrasive means in the various embodiments of the invention;

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view of a seventh embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 13 is a perspective view of stapling means included in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 12 and illustrates in broken lines the disposition of prongs in the stapling means after the stapling means has been attached to the abrasive means;

FIGURE 14 is a perspective view of stapling means included in an eighth embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURES 15a to 15 inclusive, are perspective views illustrating a novel method in which the abrasive means shown in FIGURE 11 may be formed in successive steps.

Abrasive means generally indicated at 10 are used in the various embodiments of the invention. The abrasive means constitute one or more plies 12 each made from a thin sheet of a suitable material defined by a pair of oppositely disposed surfaces. An abrasive material 14 (FIGURE 15a) is disposed on one of the surfaces of each ply. The abrasive surface of each ply is preferablyv defined by a rectangular configuration.

The plies 12 may be wound in a particular manner from a single piece of material as illustrated in FIG- URES 15a to 15 f, inclusive. The single piece of material illustrated in FIGURE 15a may be initially folded at an oblique angle such as 45 at an intermediate position. This is illustrated at 16 in FIGURE 15b. In this Way, one portion 18 of the material extends at substantially a right angle to the second portion 20 of the material.

The first portion 18 is folded as at 22 and is wound back upon itself as at 24. The second portion 20 is folded as at 26 and is wound back upon itself as at 28. The portion 28 is interleaved with the portion 24. The portion 24 is then bent as at 30 and is wound upon the portion.24 and is wound as at 32 over the portion 28 at the position in which it intersects the portion 28. In like manner,- the portion 28 is bent as at 34 and is wound upon the portion 28 and is wound as at 36 over the portion 24 at the position in which it intersects the'portion 24. In this way, the remaining portions of the single piece of material are wound in an interleaved relationship to form a plurality of plies disposed in the form of a cross.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES l and 2, the abrasive means 10 are attached to staplmg means generally indicated at 50. The stapling means 50 may be made from a suitable material such as steel. The stapling means include a flat central collar portion 52 and at least a pair of pron-gs 54 whichextend from the periphery of the collar portion 52 in a direction transverse,

- Q3 and preferably perpendicular, to the prongs. The prongs 54 extend into the abrasive means 10 to retain the abrasive means for a movement of the abrasive means with the stapling means 50. The prongs 54 are preferably bent as at 5-6 to facilitate the retaining action between the abrasive means and the stapling means 50.

The collar portion 52 is bossed as at 58 and a hole 59 is provided in the center of the collar portion. In this way, the collar portion 52 is able to retain the head 60 of a mandrel 62 within the collar portion in the space defined by the boss 58 between the abrasive means 10 and the collar portion 5 2. The head 60 is preferably rectangular to prevent the mandrel 62 from rotating rela tive to the stapling means. The collar portion 52 may also be attached as by a suitable adhesive to the head 60 of the mandrel 62. The shank of the mandrel 62 may be threaded to provide a coupling between the mandrel and a chuck (not shown).

By disposing the head 60 of the mandrel 62 between the abrasive means and the collar portion 52 of the stapling means 50, the stapling means is fixedly retained relative to the mandrel so as to be rotated with the mandrel. This causes the abrasive means to rotate past the wall to be polished and the ends of the plies to polish the wall during such rotation.

Stapling means generally indicated at are also used in the embodiment shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 and may be similar to the stapling means 50 shown in FIGURESv 1 and 2. The stapling means 70 are different from the stapling means 50 in that flanges 72 extend in the direction of prongs 74 at the corners of the collar portion 76 in quadrant relationship to the prongs. In this way, the flanges 7-2 and the prongs 7'4 cage a nut 30 which is disposed in the space between the abrasive means 10 and the collar portion 52. The nut 80 is provided with an internally threaded bore 82 to receive the threaded shank 84 of a mandrel 86.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 5 and 6, stapling means generally indicated at are provided. The stapling means 100 include a collar portion 102 and at least a pair of prongs 104 corresponding to the prongs 54 in the embodiment shown in FIGURES 1 and 2. The collar portion 102 is not provided with a boss as in the embodiment shown in FIGURES l and 2 and in the embodiment shown in FIGURES 3 and 4.

An aperture 106 is provided centrally in the collar portion 102 and is slitted as at 108 at diametrically opposed positions. By providing the slits 108 in the aperture 106, the aperture effectively serves as a pair of adjacent threads 1 10 and 112 to receive the threads of a mandrel 113 and lock the stapling means to the mandrel for movement with the mandrel. The mandrel 113 may also be provided with an integral sleeve 114 which presses against the prongs 54 and helps to retain the abrasive means 10 and the stapling means 100 in a locked relationship.

The embodiment of the stapling means and mandrel shown in FIGUR'ES 7 and 8 is somewhat similar to the embodiment of the stapling means shown in FIGUR'ES 5 and 6. However, the position of the stapling means in FIGURE 7 is reversed relative to the positions of the abrasive means 10 and the mandrel, as compared to the relative positions of the abrasive means, the stapling means and the mandrel in the embodiment shown in FIGURES 5 and 6. (For example, in FIGURE 7 a sleeve on a mandrel 122 abuts a collar portion 125 on stapling means generally indicated at 126. Another diiference between the stapling means 126 in FIGURES 7 and 8 and the stapling means 100 in FIGURES 5 and 6 is that pairs of slits are provided in a quadrant relationship at the periphery of an aperture 128 in the collar portion 116 in FIGURE 7. This causes a plurality of inwardly disposed teeth 130 to be formed for gripping thethreads in the shank portion 122 of the mandrel 122.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 9, stapling means generally indicated at are provided with a collar portion 142 and with a plurality of prongs 144 extending in a transverse direction from the periphery of the collar portion 142. As will be seen, three prongs 144 are shown as extending from the stapling means 140 although a different number of prongs may also be provided.

A plurality of lugs 146 extend from the periphery of the collar portion 142 at spaced postiOn-s and in a direction opposite to the prongs 144. The lugs 146 initially extend outwardly from the collar portion 142 and then extend in a direction substantially parallel to the collar portion. The lugs 146 engage teeth 148 in a flanged portion 150 at the end of a mandrel 152. In this way, the lugs 146 and the teeth 1 48 provide a detent arrangement for retaining the stapling means 140 for rotary movement with the mandrel 152. It will be appreciated that the lugs may be formed on the mandrel and that the teeth may be formed on the c llar portion 142 of the stapling means 140.

The embodiment shown in FIGURE 10' includes stapling means generally indicated at 1 60 and having a collar portion 162 and a pair of prongs 164 extending from the periphery of the collar portion 162 in a direction transverse to the collar portion. A plurality of lugs 166 extend outwardly from the collar portion 162 in a direction opposite to the prongs 164. The lugs 166 are disposed in a quadrant relationship and are turned inwardly as at 167 to support a nut 168. The nut 168 is provided with a threaded bore 170 to receive the threaded shank of a mandrel (not shown).

As will be seen, the embodiment shown in FIGURE 10 is somewhat similar to the embodiment shown in FIG- URES 3 and 4 and described above. The basic diiieronce is that the nut is supported against the inner surface of the collar portion of the stapling means in the embodiment shown in FIGURES 3 and 4 whereas it is supported against the external surface of the collar portion in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 10. It will also be appreciated that the collar portion of a mandrel may be supported by the lugs 166 rather than the nut 168.

The embodiment shown in FIGURES 12 and 13 includes stapling means generally indicated at 180. The stapling means has a collar portion 182 and a pair of prongs 184 extending from the collar portion 182 in a direction transverse to the collar portion. A threaded stud 186 also extends from the collar portion 182 in a direction opposite to the pron-gs 184. A mandrel .188

indicated in phantom lines in FIGURE 12 is screwed on the threaded stud 186 so as to drive the stapling means 180 and the abrasive means 10 in accordance with the movements of the mandrel.

The embodiment shown in FIGURE 14 includes stapling means generally indicated at .200 and having a collar portion 202 and prongs 204. The prongs 204 extend firo m the col ar portion 202 in a direction transverse 'to the collar portion and at the periphery of the collar portion. A sleeve 206 also extends from the central portion of the collar portion 202 in the same direction as the pron-gs 204, although the sleeve 206 may also extend in the opposite direction. The sleeve 206 is provided with a threaded bore 208 to receive the threaded shank of a mandrel (not shown).

Although this application has been disclosed and illustrated with reference to particular embodiments, the principles involved are susceptible of numerous other embodiments which will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. The invention is, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An abrasive article, including,

1 abrasive means defined by a plurality of plies of a material having an abrasive on one face of the material,

a stapling member defined by a collar portion having a flat central configuration and fiurther defined by an aperture in the collar portion with a configuration to form at least one thread and further defined by at least a pair of prongs extending from the collar portion, the prongs being disposed in transverse relationship to the collar portion and extending in a particular direction into the abrasive means to retain the abrasive means for movement with the stapling member, the prongs having bent portions at the ends opposite to the collar portions, the bent portions of the prongs extending in a direction transverse to the particular direction,

and a mandrel threaded into the apertures in the collar portion of the stapling member tor a locking relationship between the stapling member and the mandrel to obtain a movement of the stapling member with the mandrel.

'2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the aperture in the collar portion is disposed Within a sleeve portion extending in the transverse direction from the collar portion and in which the sleeve portion is threaded to receive the mandrel.

3. An abrasive article, including,

abrasive means defined by a plurality of plies of a material having an abrasive on one face of the material,

a stapling member defined by a collar portion having a fiat central configuration and further defined by an aperture in the collar portion, the collar portion being bossed to define a space between the collar portion and the abrasive means, stapling member .being further defined .by at least a pair of prongs extending into the abrasive means from the collar portion in a direction transverse to the collar portion to retain the abrasive means for movement with the stapling member, the prongs having bent portions at the ends opposite to the collar portions, the bent portions of the prongs extending in a direction transverse to the prongs,

and driving means retained by the stapling member in the space between the abrasive means and the stapling member to drive the stapling member and .the abrasive means.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which the driving means includes a nut retained by the stapling member in the space between the abrasive means and the stapling member and in which the nut is provided with a threaded aperture and in which an externally threaded mandrel extends through the hole in the collar portion of the stapling member and screws into the threaded hole in the nut.

5. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which the driving means includes a mandrel having a collar portion retained by the stapling member in the space between the collar portion and the abrasive means.

6. An abrasive article, including,

abrasive means defined by a plurality of plies of a material having an abrasive on one face of the material,

a stapling member defined by a collar portion having a fiat central configuration and fiurther defined by at least a pair of prongs extending in a transverse direction from the collar portion and by a threaded sleeve extending in the transverse direction from the collar portion and further defined by a pair of bent portions on the prongs at the end of the prongs opposite to the collar portion,

and driving means retained by the sleeve on the stapling member in threaded relationship to the sleeve to drive the stapling member and the abrasive means in accordance with the movements of the driving means.

7. The abrasive article set forth in claim 6 in which the sleeve on the stapling member is provided with an internal bore and in which the internal here is threaded to receive the driving means.

8. The abrasive article set forth in claim 6 in which the sleeve on the stapling member is internally threaded.

9. An abrasive article, including,

abrasive means formed from at least one ply of an abrasive materal,

stapling means defined by a central fiat collar portion and at least a pair of prongs extending into the abrasive means from the collar portion to retain the abrasive means for movement with the stapling means, the collar portion being provided with at least one detent portion extending from the collar portion in a direction transverse to the collar portion,

and a mandrel constructed to engage the detent portion on the stapling means in locking relationship to obtain a movement of the stapling means with the abrasive means,

the detent portion on the collar portion of the stapling member including lugs extending in the transverse direction from the collar portion and the mandrel means being provided with means for engaging the lugs to drive the stapling member in accordance with the movement of the mandrel means,

the mandrel means including a mandrel and a nut being retained by the lugs and the nut being provided with an aperture to receive the mandrel.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,777,915 10/1930 Douglas 51195 X 2,379,997 7/1945 Soderberg 1S--230.1 X 2,553,793 5/ 195'1 Stafliord 15-230.17 3,043,063 7/1962 Peterson 51-358 X 3,068,664 12/ 1962 Tocci-Gnilbert 51197 X 55 ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner.

FRANK E. BAILEY, LESTER M. SWINGLE, 

1. AN ABRASIVE ARTICLE, INCLUDING, ABRASIVE MEANS DEFINED BY A PLURALITY OF PLIES OF A MATERIAL HAVING AN ABRASIVE ON ONE FACE OF THE MATERIAL, A STAPLING MEMBER DEFINED BY A COLLAR PORTION HAVING A FLAT CENTRAL CONFIGURATION AND FURTHER DEFINED BY AN APERTURE IN THE COLLAR PORTION WITH A CONFIGURATION TO FORM AT LEAST ONE THREAD AND FURTHER DEFINED BY AT LEAST A PAIR OF PRONGS EXTENDING FROM THE COLLAR PORTION, THE PRONGS BEING DISPOSED IN TRANSVERSE RELATIONSHIP TO THE COLLAR PORTION AND EXTENDING IN A PARTICULAR DIRECTION INTO THE ABRASIVE MEANS TO RETAIN THE ABRASIVE MEANS FOR MOVEMENT WITH THE STAPLING MEMBER, THE PRONGS HAVING BENT PORTIONS AT THE ENDS OPPOSITE TO THE COLLAR PORTIONS, THE BENT PORTIONS OF THE PRONGS EXTENDING IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO THE PARTICULAR DIRECTION, AND A MANDREL THREADED INTO THE APERTURES IN THE COLLAR PORTION OF THE STAPLING MEMBER FOR A LOCKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE STAPLING MEMBER AND THE MATERIAL TO OBTAIN A MOVEMENT OF THE STAPLING MEMBER WITH THE MANDREL. 